The Hiss-tory of Monster High
by hummingbird1320
Summary: At my Monster High school, things are totally different from the webisodes and movies. There's more drama and the story is told in the first person points of view from different characters in every chapter. Hope you like. Give me a review. Favorite. You know the drill. Thanks! - hummingbird1320
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 - Draculaura

When my mother told me a school for monsters was being made I didn't believe her. I thought it was going to be one of those projects that never got finished. Two weeks later, there was a huge gothic looking building and creepy teachers ready to make us learn new things. It was scary because I knew right then that this school was going to be efficient. And an efficient school means efficient students. And so help me, I cannot be an efficient student. God no.

"You'll love it soon enough, Lala." my mother said to me as she flipped pancakes on the stove.

I wanted to tell her not to call me Lala, that I'd never given her permission to nickname me what my friends had, but instead I said, "No. It will never be something I love."

"You won't be home anymore. Just holidays." she said, knowing I hated it here. Ever since she and my father had gotten divorced and we had moved in with my new step-dad. He was entirely too energetic. Like some sort of human Ken doll. I guess "human" isn't the right word to describe him anymore since my mother bit him the other night. Now he's a vampire like us.

"That will be just about the only thing I'll end up liking. No more annoying life-sized Ken."

"He isn't a Ken." she said, sighing. She pulled a plate out of the cabinet and stacked my pancakes on it. As she crossed over to me she said, "You know he's not that bad."

"No. No I don't." I sat up a bit straighter in order to keep my clothes clean for school that day. This would be my last breakfast at this table for a long time. I've got four years at the monster school with some strange monsters. I was so happy.

"Fine. I'll be in my room if you need me." she said, taking the stairs two at a time. The only plus side to having her as a mother was that she excused my behavior as "teenage hormones acting up." So I never got grounded. She just tried to help me through as much as she could. And honestly, she never really helped me too much. But she did give me something to think about each time, even if I never get the answers. And I'm sure she knows them, but I'll be darned if I ask her for them.

When the gothic purple bus pulled up outside, I almost didn't go out. But then I thought about how if I didn't go I'd be stuck eating dry pancakes and eating by myself at lunch. I was about to leave my only friend behind and she didn't even know it. Kristy was going to hate me, I was sure. But at that point, I knew I'd never have to put up with that or explain myself. I'd never have to tell her why I couldn't play sports out in the sun or why I didn't eat anything "normal". Because I was going to Monster High School.

I stepped up the three stairs to the gargoyle bus driver. He grunted and held out his hand, a fang sticking up over his upper lip. I placed a dollar bill there and he looked surprised, but I had no time for confusion. I continued on into the bus and he eventually stopped staring after me and the two doors closed. The bus lurched forward and I fell into a seat that hadn't been occupied. I sat myself upright again and smoothed my pale hand over my shiny black hair. I played with a pink highlight that I had just added a few weeks ago.

The bus continued on into neighborhoods and picked monsters up as it went. When I had gotten on, the bus had been empty except for me and the driver, but as the minutes flew by, more monsters got on looking just as excited as I had. I saw a fish looking girl with blue skin and wavy blond hair, a green girl with stitches all up her body and white and black hair, a tan guy with green snakes hissing on the top of his head instead of hair, and a mocha colored girl with chunky black hair and golden highlights that sat down next to the snake haired boy. After we left her house, we pulled up in the cul de sac in front of the school. None of us knew each other except for the guy and mummified ghoul as we walked up those stone steps. The gargoyles on either side of me seemed to follow our every movement as if they might pounce on us at any second. And when fish girl went up and tugged at the arched double doors at the top of the steps, they didn't budge. She backed up and waited. And we waited. Until a woman stepped out of the shadows under the archway.

She looked to be in her thirties, but I couldn't be sure since monsters didn't usually look their age. Take it from me. I had been going to a human high school and everyone had been under the impression that my sixteenth birthday was coming up. But in truth, it wasn't my sixteenth birthday; it was my sixteen hundredth. Now, a huge dark blue horse with purple hair clomped up beside her and she swung herself onto the saddle resting on it's back. She nodded to each of us with a smile on her face.

"Welcome, students, to Monster High, where you can be yourself, be unique, and be a monster. We have brought you here to learn under the watchful eyes of amazing teachers that came here to teach you. I am Headless Headmistress Bloodgood, and I will be your principal for the next four years. Welcome to Monster High."

The day continued to go downhill. I soon learned that my bus was the only bus coming. We were the only students. I guess we were the lab rats, the ones who were going to test this thing out. Or maybe no one else's parents were stupid enough to sign their children up for this nut job school project. Sadly, my mother was one of the stupid parents.

"I can't believe I'm standing in a high school for monsters." the blond haired fish said, looking around with a disgusted look on her face. "We've really begun to separate ourselves from human kind."

"Not all of us. Some people are still sitting in their splintery desks at Green Forest High." the mummy said, leaning against the snaky guy.

"I think this will be good." the green girl said shyly, looking at her black and white shoes. "Maybe this is what we need."

"What do you mean?" the boy asked, arching his eyebrows. I couldn't see his entire expression due to the dark Ray Bans he was wearing. Goodness, we were inside, why did he need them on?

"I mean, when we go to human school every day, we have to hide our imperfections. Imperfections judged by humans. Here, we can come as we are. You can show your scales," she said, pointed at the fish girl, "you don't have to try hiding those snakes," she nodded at the snake guy, "you don't have to wear fake tan and never smile," she turned on me now, "and you can be your royal highness without being called completely snotty with no reason." she finished, projecting her words at the mummy.

"Still. This just goes to show that the monsters have given up trying to persuade the humans to accept us." fish girl pointed out.

"Totally." mummy agreed, starting to walk off down the long and empty corridor.

Stitches spoke up again. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves…"

"I'm Lagoona Blue." fish girl said, waving her webbed fingers and allowing the light to bounce off of her shiny blue scales. When she smiled, she got dimples in her cheeks. She had freckles and big green eyes and her blond hair was actually tinged a blue-green color, like she'd spent too much time in the chlorine infected pool.

"I'm Frankie Stein." Stitches said, also waggling her fingers, though hers weren't webbed. She had stitches on every single part of her body that could move; her wrist, her ankles, her knees, her elbows, and her neck. There was also a stray stitch across her right cheek. Her eyes were two different colors and her hair was black and white. She had a petite figure and a pert nose. She was a cute girl by certain monster standards, but she needed to learn to keep most of her opinions to herself.

"I'm Cleo de Nile." the mummy called from down the hall where she was peeking inside a classroom. She turned back toward us and I noticed that she was also cute by monster standards, but she was mostly beautiful by even more than monster standards. She had long, shiny black hair that was streaked with what seemed to be actual gold. She was also skinny and small with a perfectly symmetrical face. She had crystal blue eyes and her eye liner game was on point. She had long eyelashes and was wrapped head to toe in her mummy linens. I loved her wedges. I wanted those so bad. Goodness. Gracious.

"I'm Deuce Gorgon." snake boy finally said, putting his tan hands in the pockets of his black jeans. He was wearing a loose red tank top with some sort of graphic print on it and was wearing a soft looking vest over that. It was white and gray and looked so comfortable. He was tan and obviously had snakes for hair. Green snakes. He was hot to be completely honest, even though hot tan guys weren't usually my type. I liked shy, poetic guys that were sweet and sensitive. But that was just me.

"And you are…?" Lagoona asked me.

"Oh, I'm Draculaura." I said, folding my hands in front of my trying my best to smile politely. If this school thing worked out, I'd be in school with these monsters for four years. Four freaking years. You had to be kidding me.

Cleo had just walked back up at her leisurely pace and was fluttering her eyelashes like she was tired and drowsy. Which, she probably was. If she'd gotten up as early as me, that is. My mother had woken me up at almost five this morning, even though the bus wouldn't be outside to pick me up until around seven twenty. She wanted to give me plenty of time to get ready. And I would've had some anyway even if she hadn't woken me up at five in the morning. Goodness.

"So what are we supposed to do?" Cleo asked, taking what I already recognized as her place beside Deuce.

"I have no idea." I said, looking around us as I'd already done plenty of times by this point.

"Do they seriously expect us to figure everything out?" Lagoona asked, also looking around the empty hallway.

"Welcome students of Monster High!" a robotic voice called out from the loudspeaker in the corner. Deuce put his hand to his forehead and shook his head.

"Yeah, welcome!" another robotic voice said, and even though it sounded the same in the fact it was robotic, I knew it was a different person.

"I'm Medusa Gorgon, mother of Deuce Gorgon, and the other voice you're hearing is the voice of my twenty three year old daughter, Maddi Gorgon. She's human."

"Hi!" Maddi said, and I could picture her waving animatedly. These two must be the comic relief. Oh, great.

"Instead of constantly hearing from Headless Headmistress Bloodgood from these speakers, you'll be hearing from us." Deuce still looked mortified, like they'd warned him in advance but he hadn't believed them. "And instead of going to class and learning about how the world works, you'll be doing nothing. Nothing at all. And if you want to do something, then do it. But you can never leave Monster High."

A bunch of jaws dropped then, including the one from a gargoyle statue next to a door that used to seem to lead to a classroom. Now I, and everyone else, knew that there were no classrooms. There was nothing. No teachers, no learning, nothing. And our smiles just continued to grow. School was about to become something so much better and we had no idea.

"So explore the school and get to know each other." Maddi instructed, sounding entirely too pleasant for what they'd just told us life was about to be.

Walking through the school, I was amazed at how intricate it all was. If someone had come inside, they would've thought it actually was a school. The classrooms had things already written on the chalkboard, the desks were there, the cafeteria smelled like food, and the fake announcements droned on after Maddi and Medusa talked to us. I thought it was an actual school and I knew the truth.

Cleo was the one to find the first camera. She had been checking her reflection in one of the water fountains in the hallway and she found an small lens in the stainless steel. She called Deuce over and he confirmed.

"We're a show." Cleo said, standing up straighter and widening her blue eyes. "They're using us for their own reality show."

"What? Deuce, did you know this?" I asked, realizing what my life was about to turn into. I didn't want fame and fortune. I just wanted to pass through the world happily and invisibly. Not with millions of people watching my every move.

"I didn't know about it." he said, shaking his head. He just seemed to get more and more disappointed in his family. He started rubbing his temple and I looked away.

Frankie and Lagoona had begun walking down the hallway as Cleo had stopped for water. We still hadn't found a bathroom.

"Hey, guys. Come over here." Lagoona called, not turning back to look at us, instead just standing there, still looking starstruck. Frankie did the same.

The three of us walked over to them and we ended up standing the same exact way as the other two had. All five of us stood there for about a minute more and then we composed ourselves again.

What Frankie and Lagoona had stumbled upon was the next part of Monster High. I knew there had to be a place for us to stay because it was classified as a boarding school. These were the dorms we were staring at. The tiled purple and lavender floor was replaced by light purple carpet that led into a living area. On either side of the half circle shaped room were staircases that went up floors and floors and floors. We all looked up as far as we could see and it abruptly ended at the fifth floor doors. There were about three doors per floor and they each had a short description above them in fancy writing. Frankie walked up the stairs to the left and started checking out the door there.

"'Daughter of the Sea Monster. Lagoona Blue.'" she read, looking back down at Lagoona. She raised her eyebrows. Lagoona walked up to where Frankie was and turned the knob. It didn't open. The door was locked.

"How come I can't even open my own room?" she asked incredulously.

"The key," a different robotic voice echoed through the small space said, "is in the vase on the center table."

Lagoona looked up and then down and her eyes set on the small, round, wooden table in front of a group of five arm chairs circled around it. I took the vase and rummaged through it until I found a blue key with small shells set into it. I walked up to the balcony Lagoona was standing on and reached up to give her the key. She took it and nodded. Then she stuck the key into the doorknob and turned. The lock clicked and the door swung open quite neatly. Lagoona stepped inside and started peering around.

"All my stuff's in here from home… That's strange. I only brought a few outfits…" she mumbled to herself the whole way through her room and no one followed her inside.

One by one I dug the keys out of the vase and handed them to the obvious new owner. There was one key wrapped completely in linen, another had snakes engraved inside the green stone, one key had stitches on it, and mine had fangs on the skullette face. We all opened our doors and took a look inside. No one went inside anyone else's room except Cleo and Deuce because they were obviously a couple. I had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time they saw each other's rooms.

When we all came out and went back down to the living area, it was late. The arched windows showed a scene of a dark and stormy night with no sound. The windows were only screens, not actually showing what was going on outside. I guess they showed us what they wanted us to see. A fire was burning wildly in the fireplace in front of the chairs. And three women were standing just inside the light purple carpet.

One woman had snakes all over her head. Green snakes. And she also wore sunglasses like her son. She stood there with no smile on her stony face and the rest of her body also showed no emotion. She was tall and also tan. She dressed in dark clothes that looked serious.

The younger woman beside her was blond and wore no sunglasses. She had bright green eyes that couldn't have been human, but the rest of her was completely ordinary. She had to be a human. She had brown hair and tan skin just like the woman beside her. I was pretty sure the older woman was Medusa and the blond one was Maddi. Maddi actually smiled, though, and she waggled her fingers at us when we were all still.

On the other side of Medusa stood a werewolf. She must've been the one that told us about the keys. She had a deeper robotic voice than the other two. She was black and had wavy brown hair that only ended at her elbows. She had sharp canine teeth and hairy arms and legs. I didn't know her name. She hadn't formally introduced herself.

"Hey, everybody." Medusa said, only now smiling. She looked at Maddi and noticed her wide smile. "Maddi, what happened to seriousness? They have to take us seriously."

"Mom, they need to be comfortable with us. They'll be listening to us for the next four years."

"So? They need to take us seriously."

"Mom. Comfort is key."

"No, Maddi. R-e-s-p-e-c-t." she sang the letters to the tune of the song.

"Maddi! Medusa!" the werewolf exclaimed. Maddi and Medusa froze and put on their best faces for us. As if we hadn't just seen this entire exchange.

"Hello, everybody. And welcome to Monster High." As if we hadn't already heard that ten times today. "I'm Medusa Gorgon, the woman you'll be getting news, announcements and activities from." Activities? Oh goodness. Now we're Total Drama Island. Or the Challenge. This is gonna bite. "Actually, all of us are going to be what we like to think of as your mentors. Introduce yourselves." she said, gesturing to Maddi and the werewolf.

"Well, I'm Maddi. Hi. I'm Medusa's daughter. Deuce's older sister." she said, eyeing Deuce who only shook his head.

"I'm Shouti Wolf. I'm going to be your lunch lady." I had to hold myself together. I looked her up and down and my stomach rolled with the thought of all of that hair in my food. I shivered and I swear Cleo did too.

"You guys should get some sleep before tomorrow. We've got some fun coming for every single one of you." Medusa said, a look her face that told me that it wasn't going to be fun for us, but for them.

The three women turned and walked off down the hallway of the school and left us in the living area of the dorm. We all looked at each other. Everyone went up to their door and went inside.

When I got inside my room, I felt like I was home. The sounds coming from the other side of the door were sounds from my home with my mother and her Ken doll. The scene outside my windows were my old neighborhood. I felt oddly comfortable in the strange room that looked like my own. It was my room. It had to have been. But it wasn't and I knew that.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - Lagoona Blue

The next morning, Monster High, as new as it was, had one less couple around. The only couple we had was done for. The other ghouls and I were happy about it. However, Cleo wasn't.

While we were walking through the empty halls, Cleo looked put out. Deuce looked like he felt all haughty and proud. Like he'd won the fight or he'd been the one to tell Cleo that it was over. Done. Gone. The love was not happening. It just wasn't.

"Where's the cafeteria in here?" Frankie asked, trudging along behind the entire group. She looked totally tired, like she hadn't gotten any rest at all.

"Do you think we know?" Cleo asked, looking back and glaring at her. "We haven't even found the bathroom yet, booger."

"Cleo, that's not nice." I said, shooting her a look that wasn't nearly as menacing as hers had been.

"So? She's getting on my nerves." the mummy shot back.

"She's only fifteen days old, Cleo." Draculaura said, not looking back at the royal pain in the butt.

Deuce didn't say anything. He just continued walking, like this conversation wasn't worth his time. And it wasn't, really. He knew already what we were just figuring out: Cleo was a queen bee-otch.

All five of us walked through the halls trying to find the "huge double doors with a sign saying 'Creepeteria" on them" that the women on the loud speakers told us about. "Has anyone seen these doors?" Draculaura asked, sighing in aggravation.

"Nope. I haven't." Frankie replied, still lagging behind.

"If anyone has a chance of seeing them, it wouldn't be you." Cleo growled, balling her fists.

"There they are." Draculaura said, not at all excitedly.

"Finally." Deuce breathed.

I went up and pushed the heavy doors open just wide enough for me and he came up behind me and pushed them open even more. We all walked through, and Frankie collapsed in a chair at a table right beside the door. I went right up to the sushi bar and started picking at the choices that Shouti had either made or ordered from a nearby sushi restaurant. I was guessing the latter after a I tasted a bite of wasabi. It tasted just like the sushi at my once favorite restaurant. I probably won't be going there anymore… I continued down the line of the lunch bar and I reached the register five minutes later with my plate heaping with food.

"You have a whole lot on your plate there, Lagoona." Shouti said, punching some buttons on the register as she spoke.

I felt kind of weird having her call me Lagoona. I didn't even know her. She was trapping me here. We were most definitely not on a first name basis.

"So? You people make us trudge through those hallways every day and don't even give us a map to tell us where we're going.

"All of you are going to have to work together and learn the twists of turns of Monster High. It'll become second nature before long." she replied, smiling and handing me back my plate. Now, instead of a plain white ceramic plate, the plate was a blue ceramic plate with sea shells set into the ridges. I stared at it for a second and Shouti smiled that same fanged smile. "Everything is themed here."

"Even the plates we eat off of?"

"Of course. Monster High is famously intricate already. You'll see."

"Oh, believe me, we already have."

"Good." she said, smiling even wider, showing her pointy canine teeth. "Get used to it."

"Lagoona! Over here!" Draculaura called as my conversation with Shouti came to an end. I turned and nodded to her. But when I looked back to ask Shouti one last question, she was already gone. I groaned. Seriously?

"Hey. What took you so long up there?" Frankie asked as I sat down at the table they were already sitting at. Monster High's creepateria was packed full with tables that I guessed would stay empty. There weren't nearly enough people to fill them. The tables must have just been for looks.

"There was just so much food, and after walking through the halls since yesterday, I've built up a pretty good appetite."

"Same here." Draculaura said through a mouthful of peach cobbler.

"What'd you get?" Frankie asked, picking around her plate of fries and a burger.

"Sushi, seaweed, some different fish, and kale chips."

"Kale chips? Seriously?" Draculaura asked, giving me a look that said kale chips sucked to her.

"Yup. I love kale chips." I replied, taking a handful and putting them all into my mouth. They only stared in what looked to me like awe as I chewed the chips.

"Seriously?" Draculaura repeated.

"Yes."

"Sushi? I've never tried sushi…" Frankie mused, studying my plate.

"Take a bite then." I said, pushing my plate over to her. She cut a piece off of an untouched piece of sushi and popped it into her mouth. She chewed and her expression slowly changed.

"Nope. I won't be eating anymore sushi." she commented after she finished the bite and swallowed.

"That's why no one eats sushi but only a select few." Draculaura said, pointing at Frankie with her fork.

"Obviously." Frankie agreed, nodding at Draculaura.

"Then don't take anymore of my sushi." I said, taking my plate back and taking a huge bite of the rest of the piece.

Frankie and Draculaura looked on in disgust. I stuck my tongue out at them with my sushi still in my mouth. They looked away and continued eating their breakfast.

"Okay, students of Monster High! We have a new activity for you guys to play at." Medusa said, coming on overhead.

"Oh, great." Deuce sighed, shaking his head. I noticed he did that a lot whenever anything about his family came up.

"You're going to be going Mountain Thingin'!" Maddi exclaimed, and behind us at the register, Shouti nodded in approval.

"Mountain Thingin'?" Frankie asked, looking at Draculaura and me for some sort of clue. But we had none, so she turned back to the intercom in the ceiling.

"'Mountain Thingin'?' you may be asking." Medusa said, echoing Frankie. "Mountain Thingin' is the term we use for bungie jumping off a cliff!" Medusa said excitedly.

Every single one of our faces changed, eyes widening and jaws dropping all the way to the floor.

"Don't worry. It's completely safe." Maddi said, trying to reassure us as much as she could, making it sound like Mountain Thingin' was Medusa's idea. I was beginning to like Maddi a bit more.

"And it'll be completely fun!" Medusa said even more excitedly than before.

"Yeah!" Maddi agreed loudly.

"So just follow Shouti to the cliff and we'll be there waiting for you with harnesses and bungie wires." Medusa explained, now sounding more businesslike. "See you there!"

After the intercom beeped and went off, everyone was just standing there in a stunned silence. Bungie jumping off of a cliff? And it was called Mountain Thingin'? Really? These people were retarded.

"Is everyone ready to go?" Shouti asked, smiling evilly. They all knew how we felt about this and they didn't care. But it was a have to, and it was gonna suck. "Follow me."

We followed her through the twisting hallways of Monster High. She walked through like nobody's business. And we still didn't know where a bathroom was that wasn't in the creepateria. That's where we'd all hopefully relieved ourselves.

"Don't worry, guys. Mountain Thingin' isn't so bad." Shouti said, not turning to look at us. She just kept going.

"Really? We're jumping off a cliff." Cleo pointed out.

"So? Jumping off cliffs isn't too hard." Shouti countered, still not turning around to look at us.

"Maybe for you, but for us, jumping off of a cliff has never been on the ole bucket list." I said, trying to persuade her to make Maddi and Medusa stop. They couldn't force us to do something we didn't want to do, right?

"Well, you'll still be able to cross it off." Shouti said, still not taking no for an answer.

"What if we don't want to scratch it off? Is it even that safe?" Draculaura asked, looking paler than usual.

"You'll still be able to." Shouti repeated, walking just a bit faster. We picked up our paces too.

"I don't want to jump off of a cliff." Deuce said, point blank.

The intercom crackled overhead and Medusa's voice poured out of it, loud and proud. "You don't have to, Deucey." she said sweetly, obviously telling everyone that Deuce was her favorite. Obviously. Obviously. Obviously. He's her freaking son.

"Mom!" Maddi exclaimed in the background, spluttering only a little.

"What, Maddi? Deuce is my favorite."

"I thought I was your favorite." Maddi said, not really sounding hurt.

"Nope. It's Deuce. Always has been, always will be."

"Why? I'm the one who stays up here and works with you every. Single. Day." she said, exasperated. It sounds like they've had this conversation before.

"Maddi, get over it. Not everyone can be Medusa's favorite." Medusa said, sounding like she was thinking, "What'cha gonna do?" Like it was a lost cause.

"Whatever. Deuce you're a baby." Maddi said, sounding entirely too jealous to be fighting over Medusa Gorgon. And then it sounded like she cut the Intercoms off.

We were still walking. Still walking. And Shouti didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon when she suddenly opened a door and went inside. We followed and I soon learned that she didn't go inside, she went outside.

The wind was blowing through all of our hair and the cliff was so tall. I couldn't see where it met the ground. The air was warm and so was the wind. The looks on the faces of my fellow students, though, were anything but warm. Maddi and Medusa were standing on the edge of cliff with their hands crossed behind their backs. They were smiling and probably trying to look welcoming, but right now, there was nothing in me but contempt for them.

"Hi, kids. Welcome to the Terror Cliff. My name is Medusa."

"And my name is Maddi."

"And we're here to get you into harnesses and push you off of Terror Cliff. Shouti will be assisting us with the students that aren't cooperative."

There had to be some law saying they couldn't do this to us. But then I remembered that I wasn't living in the human world anymore. I was in the Monster World, where nothing was written out in law books and monsters weren't jailed if they didn't follow these so-called laws. Monsters had a law of their own, something that had more to do with Monster ethics, not that we had many. You didn't harm other monsters. You kept them safe. And unless they did something to make you mad or something that violated this commonly known rule, then you had to continue to abide by the law.

"First up, or should I say, down, is Draculaura." Maddi said, trying to make a joke in this situation. No one laughed. Especially Draculaura.

"Come on up, or Shouti will have to intervene." Medusa said, waving the vampire up to the edge where they stood.

She walked over to the Gorgon and a gust of strong wind blew suddenly. Draculaura started to fall without the harness having been tied, but Shouti ran over and caught her before she plummeted to her death.

"Thanks, I guess." Draculaura mumbled, barely audible over the howl of the wind.

"You ready?" Shouti asked, fastening the harness onto Draculaura.

"Nope. Not at all." she replied, in a mock sweet tone.

"Good." Shouti said, pretending the response had been a more positive one.

Draculaura sighed. She patted her on the shoulder. She was finished with the harness. "You're ready." she said, walking over and handing the bungie wire to an animated gargoyle statue near the door we came through. She nodded at him and he nodded back, making a grinding sound as he did so.

"Alright, Draculaura, it's time for you to jump off of Terror Cliff." Medusa said in what sounded like her game show host voice.

"Do I really have to do this?" Draculaura asked, glancing back down to the ground below. I was scared for her.

"Yup." Maddi said, nodding her head at Draculaura. "Do you want to jump on your own, or do you want Shouti to give you a little, helpful push?"

"I'll jump on my own." Draculaura said, straightening herself up and breathing in deeply. Then she just fell. No sound or anything.

We all crowded over near the edge looking down. I searched for her. The wire was still here, the gargoyle still held on tightly, but the vampire was no where in sight. Then the wire started to get less tight. It was starting to come up. And so was Draculaura. She was shooting back up the cliff and we all stepped back to allow her through. Shouti went over to the edge, almost falling too, but she didn't. Her werewolf reflexes were super strong still, even though there were gray hairs around her hairline. She caught Draculaura under the arm and pulled her back up onto the ground.

"That was scary." she said, not seeming scared at all.

"Must've been. You almost had a heart attack going down." Medusa said from the far side of the cliff, commenting on how she hadn't reacted. Her face wasn't even flushed or pale. She just looked normal.

"Okay, everyone." Maddi spoke up. "Draculaura was the one going today. The rest of you are safe until we send another down tomorrow."

I sighed in relief, not even attempting to hide it.

"Get back inside." Shouti said, ushering us to the door we came out from. We followed her gladly.

"How did you not scream?"

"I wouldn't have been able to do that."

"Was it horrible?"

"How messed up was that?"

"No more questions!" Draculaura exclaimed.

We were back in the living area of the dorm part of Monster High. Everyone, including me, immediately began badgering Draculaura with questions about the bungie jump.

"It wasn't that bad!" she exclaimed throwing her arms around. "Stop asking me questions about it. I've answered all I can." She stormed off down the hallway and left us all just surprised standing there.

"All students," Medusa came over the intercom. "you need to make your way to the front office. Draculaura, try to stay with the group. Thank you. Just remember, front office." The intercom crackled and everything was quiet once more. The little pink and black vampire came stomping back down the hall. When she reached the group, she stopped and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Lets go." she grumbled, gesturing for us to get on with it.

"Okay, Mrs. Grumps-A-Lot." I said, starting down the hallway. I could only hope we were going the right way.

"I wonder what they want us to come to the office for…" Frankie mused, still lagging behind. I think she tends to stay in her own little la la land.

"Probably just telling us about some stupid agenda." Draculaura mumbled under her breath. I'm pretty sure everyone agreed.

When we got to the front office, no one was there except Shouti. She was behind the receptionist desk straightening up a stack of paper. "Hey, everybody." she said, waggling her pointy-nailed fingers at all of us as we packed in. "Medusa called you all here because we've noticed that all of you aren't adapting well to the halls of Monster High."

"You keep getting confused." Maddi said, turning her rolling chair around and revealing herself. I suspected Medusa was in the chair next to Maddi, but she didn't appear. "So we've printed out some maps of the school for everyone."

"Tardiness is laziness." Medusa said, stepping out of the shadows in the corner near Shouti. "That's what Athena always told us when I was in the huntresses. I was never tardy. And now, with your new maps, you'll never be late again!" she said excitedly.

"Also, you won't have to take the entire group when you leave the dorm area." Shouti chimed in, craning her neck around Medusa to look at all of us.

When we quickly made our way back to the dorms, I realized I might actually like this school. They had a humongous pool out back where sea creatures like myself could go for a swim. Frankie was excited about the science lab, claiming she was so into how certain mixtures reacted to each other. Draculaura headed straight out of the living area when we got back and told me she was heading to the library, probably to get away from the insanity that was Monster High. Cleo was excited about the small shopping outlet just outside one of the doors near the bungie jumping cliff. Deuce didn't say anything, instead just heading to his room and quietly closing the light green door. Maybe he and Cleo would get back together, because he was seriously not happy right now.

I walked over to the black and white tiled door near the window and entered the kitchen. I made myself some really watered down coffee, and went and sat in the living area. I watched the fire in silence for some time. I watched everyone come back and go inside their rooms. But then I heard something. A sound. So I got up and went to investigate.

Sure, investigation of a strange sound was not one of my brightest ideas. But there are only so many things you can be scared of when you're the daughter of the infamous sea monster. Maybe I thought it would be some party happening without me, even if I didn't hear any music or laughter. It was just a sound. When I got up to the third floor balcony, I noticed that the light green door was slightly ajar. I put my face up just enough to the crack and was able to see only one side of the dark room. There was a lamp on, giving off a warm color of light. I heard movement coming from the bed on the side of the room I couldn't see. I got down onto the carpeted floor just outside the door and peaked through the small crack there. On the light green carpet, a pink go-go boot stepped down from the bed. It hung slightly in the air and then I heard a small giggle.

"I'll see you tomorrow." a girl's voice said. I heard another voice say something, but I couldn't make out what was said. Then the second pink boot hit the floor and I was up. I ran and turned the knob of the door next to Deuce's room, and went inside. I gently but quickly closed the door and realized my mistake. I was in Draculaura's room. I hurried over to the closet and shut myself inside. It was empty, not yet in use, so either I was completely safe, or she would be fixing the closet up when she got inside. I heard the know jiggle and the door open and the vampire must've stepped inside.

Draculaura's floor wasn't carpet, it was real wood. Everything inside followed the pink and black color scheme, with some white thrown in there. I heard her cross the room and open a drawer. She must've taken out some pajamas and gotten changed into them. I heard the lamp click off and I was plunged into darkness. A few minutes later, the lamp came back on. The covers seemed to have been thrown away from the vampire and she was getting back up for something. I heard her footsteps coming closer and she was mumbling to herself.

"… scared of closets. No telling what's in them. Probably mom's animated Ken doll…" I couldn't really make sense of what she was saying, but she came over and threw the decorative wooden latch over the knobs. I was locked in. She crossed back over to the bed and the lamp went out seconds later.

I sat down on the floor of the closet and tried getting comfortable. There was no telling how long I'd be in there.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 - Frankie Stein

No one had seen Lagoona in a few days. It was scary. Maddi, Shouti, and Medusa wouldn't say anything about her. When asked if they knew where she was, they would only shrug and smile. It seemed to me that Lagoona was a lost cause.

It had been a few days after she originally disappeared when Maddi came over the intercom and told us to come to the front office. No one was there when we entered the room. Shouti wasn't even at the desk. A few minutes later, Lagoona came into the room, looking very unhappy.

"Lagoona!" Draculaura ran over to her. The fish did not look grateful for the hug.

"Where were you?" Cleo asked, acting like she couldn't care less. And she probably didn't.

"I don't wanna talk about it." she replied hotly. She walked over and sat on a cushiony armchair.

"Okay then." I mumbled, looking down at the floor.

And then Shouti, Maddi, and Medusa walked in with two boys.

"Everyone," Medusa announced, sweeping her arms in a grand gesture. "This is Holt Hyde and Jackson Jekyll."

One boy seemed to be human. But this high school was called Monster High for a reason. I knew there had to be something about him. They wouldn't just let some human enroll here… Hmm…

"We'd like for you to take them back to the dorms and make friends with them. Be nice, guys." Shouti said, a fake smile plastered to her face.

"Back to the dorms. New students are going to be coming in a lot now." Medusa said.

"Get to know them. Make friends." Maddi said, looking at all of us nicely, like she actually cared about every single one of us. "Someone will be bungie jumping from Terror Cliff later today. Preferably before lunch, since we don't really want to see anyone puking."

I groaned. Were they seriously going to continue with that? Could they do this to us? I spoke up. "Can you really make us do that?"

Medusa looked taken aback for a second. Then she composed herself and nodded at Shouti, who nodded right back. "Frankie, sweetheart, when your parents signed the contract that allowed you to come here, they agreed that you were under our control. We can make you do whatever we want, and if you refuse us, well… Just don't refuse us, honey. Mm'kay?"

"But it's not right." I continued. I did not want to bungie jump off of Terror Cliff. They could do whatever they wanted to me, but I would not back down. We were monsters, too. It wasn't right for them to treat us like this. "I refuse to jump off of Terror Cliff." I put my foot down firm. Everyone else behind me looked scared, either for themselves or for me. I didn't care either way. Jackson and Holt looked amused. They had only just arrived. They had no idea how maddening this place was. Yet. They would. Apparently, we were the property of Monster High.

"Frankie," Medusa spoke up. "I would like for you to follow me." She opened the door and waited for me to follow. I didn't look back at everyone else, who were all probably awestruck. I just held my head up high and walked out into the hallway with Medusa. "Honey. Sweetheart." she began, looking at me sternly. I could tell she was still trying to be gentle. "I'm going to give you one more chance. Please rethink your actions, realize they were wrong, and go and apologize to Shouti. Make it clear you realize you were wrong and do not encourage the other students. Okay?"

"No. I'm not the one in the wrong. You guys are wrong. I won't give in to this." I said, making sure she understood that I was not one to succumb to pressure.

"Stay here." she said, opening the door back up and gesturing for someone to come out to the hall. She stepped back and Deuce walked out, looking at the tiled purple floor. "Frankie. Please." Medusa begged. "Stop this."

"No, Medusa. There is nothing you could do to me that would make me stop." I said, standing my ground. I don't know why I wanted to get myself hurt or into trouble. But I knew in my heart space that what they were doing to us was wrong. I wouldn't let them go without criticism. Maybe one day they'd understand they weren't right."

"Then I guess you'll have to spend an entire day in the haunted section of the catacombs." she said, giving me one last window to break. I wouldn't. I made myself stand tall. She peeped open and eye and realized I wasn't breaking. She lifted her sunglasses and my heart raced. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and put her sunglasses back into place. I was beginning to wonder why Deuce was here when she said, "Frankie Stein, I sentence you to punishment of the worst kind. You will be terrified and tortured with horror, unable to move an inch. Deuce." she said, gesturing to me.

"Sorry, Frankie." he mumbled, not really seeming to be too sorry. He lifted his sunglasses and my heart raced. This time, it wasn't a false alarm. I saw his green eyes, a brilliant colored green. They were so, so green. The snakes on his head hissed and one of his eyebrows raised a little. I looked into those eyes as everything went green, the same color green as his eyes, and then everything was dark.

Next thing I knew, I was standing in the catacombs. The haunted part of the catacombs, like Medusa had said. I could see now and I could move my eyes, ever so slightly. There wasn't anything. I could hear water dripping from somewhere off in the catacombs. A small noise, like the padding of four feet. I heard what sounded to me like a moan. And a little orb of light started coming toward me from one of the tunnels. I heard another moan, and I knew the light was making the sound. I tried to move, to run away, but I couldn't. Deuce had stoned me. Great day. The form was coming closer.

At this point, it was so close to me that I could see the silhouette of the ghost. It was a girl, she looked about sixteen. She had a gaunt, and haunting face, with enviable cheekbones. Her eyes were big and a pretty shade of violet. She wore a light green eyeshadow and her eyelashes were long. She was very skinny, her skin a pale white, like paper. She wore a long flowing skirt, a tank top with chains on it, and her shoes had heels of metal balls, the kind that were supposed to weight someone to a certain spot. She was a haunting beauty.

She came toward me and smiled. She waggled her thin fingers. My eyes must have been frightened, like my brain, because she said in a voice that was faint, soft, and pretty, " I won't hurt you."

"How do I know you're telling the truth?" I asked, my voice slightly muffled by the stone that was enclosing me.

"You don't. And you never will. You'll just have to trust me." she said, her head tilting a little to the side.

"But-"

"Have I ever done anything or said anything to give you reason not to trust me?" she asked, smiling slyly.

"No, but I don't know you." I said.

"So? What if I could get you out of the stone?" she asked, her eyelashes fluttering as she blinked. Her straight purple hair swished as she floated above the ground.

"I still wouldn't trust you." I said, wondering what she wanted with me.

"But I saved you. Why wouldn't you trust me?" she asked, obviously trying to confuse me. I could feel my neck bolts sparking.

"Still. That wouldn't mean I trusted you. I'd be grateful to you, but I wouldn't know you well enough to put trust in you." I said, believing this would be the end of the conversation.

"Well. Be that way then." she said, her face dropping from the lovely smile it once wore. She looked sad now. Rejected. She seemed to be a tortured beauty.

"Wait." I said, catching onto something I hadn't before. She turned and looked at me, her eyes brimming with translucent tears. "When you said you could pull me out of this stone, did you mean that? Or was it just theoretical? Because if you could, that would be great." I said, smiling at her.

"I mean, it isn't blue metal…" she said, putting her hand on her chin. What did blue metal have to do with this? She saw my confused look. "Oh. It's ghost rules." she said, seeming to write it off with a flick of her wrist. "We can float through any material except blue metal. It's a darn shame, too." she said, her lower lip sticking out a little.

"So you can get me out?" I asked, trying to guide her back to the point of why I'd called her back.

"I guess so. I can try…" she said, still seeming to be thinking hard. I was beginning to pick up that this ghost wasn't a really smart ghost. She smiled at me and floated a little closer. "Yeah, I'll try." she said, decided. She smiled and showed her pearly white teeth. She reached down and grabbed my stone hands, entwining her fingers with my fingers inside of the stone. She nodded, thinking to herself about something. She pulled hard and I felt awful. It was horrible. I'd never do it again. But she saved me. She successfully pulled me out of the stone.

"Thank you." I said, when my feet were on the ground. I looked back behind me and admired the stone statue of myself. It looked amazing and accurate. Of course, my facial expression looked dreamy and frightening at the same time, and my body was a little contorted.

"You're welcome." she said, starting to float off into the pitch black tunnels.

"Wait." I said, once again calling her back to me. She floated back, not impatient at all. She looked quite content, yet still haunted and sad. It brought a twinge to my heart. I said, "What's your name?"

"Oh." she said, smiling drunkenly. I had the feeling that she just had the personality of a bubble head. "My name is Spectra Vondergeist." she said, holding her hand out to me. I tried taking it, but my hand went right through hers. "Whoops. Sorry." Her hand became solid and I shook it.

"My name's Frankie Stein." I smiled at her and she smiled at me.

"Cool." she said, her hand becoming like air again. She turned and her hair went right through me as it swished. A shiver went through me even though it was humid in the catacombs.

"So," I said, skipping and catching up with her. She knew these tunnels, I hoped, and she might could lead me to where I needed to be. "what happened to you?" In the monster world, asking someone obviously dead their cause of death wasn't rude. Humans would think it would be, but it's not. Some people, like Deuce, are born monsters. They didn't die and never will unless someone purposely vanquishes them under the right circumstances.

"Oh. It's a long story." she said, her face becoming sad again. I wanted to feel bad about making her recount the story, but I was really interested. Curiosity killed the cat, they say. So what? At least you'd die knowing what you'd not known before.

"Tell me." I said, gently nudging her figuratively.

"Okay. Follow me." she said, smiling back at me as she floated inches ahead. I had no idea where she was taking me and why she needed to take me there to tell me her story.

I walked, she floated, through the tunnels. Twists and turns. I was able to keep up with her perfectly fine because she stayed slow for me. And when she finally stopped it was pitch black dark. Like we'd reached a dead end. I knew because the sounds made there echoed around us, like we were in a circular room. She clapped her hands that weren't there, and they made a clapping sound that echoed. A few fire's lit around the room and I could see that we were in a circular dead end. There were two tunnel ways leading out of the room and the room went up for a long way. So long I couldn't see the end. But there was light. So it came out somewhere normal. Hopefully.

"What about your story?" I asked, as we'd been traveling here for ten minutes.

"Oh yeah." Oh great. Did she lead me here for nothing? Had she seriously forgotten? Great day. Again.

"Did you forget?" I asked. "Are we here for nothing?"

"No. I knew where I was leading you, but I forgot why." she said, shrugging. "Now I know." Then she said a little louder, for reasons unknown to me at the moment, "I'm going to tell you the story of my death right now, Frankie." she said, lifting her head up to the light at the top of the room.

"Do you want me to come down there, Spectra?" a voice asked from high above. It was gruff and raspy and sounded flat and not interested.

"If you want." Spectra said, floating in front of me. When we'd been standing there waiting for her to come down for a little while, Spectra said, "Lucy, come down here." There was a loud groan and a dark shadow started floating down. The girl scared me. She had jet black hair, pale skin, dark makeup all over her face, she wore dark clothes, and she looked mean. And sad. Tortured. Just like Spectra.

"So how did you die?" I asked, trying to get this show on the road.

"Lucy killed me." she said, gesturing to the dark ghost and smiling like we weren't talking about her death.

"What? Why?" I asked. This story seemed interesting…

(Hey, ghouls and mansters, it's CharicloArganthoneCupid here and I just wanted to tell you that the story about Spectra's death and Lucy's death will not be told in this fanfic. I will be posting another fanfic just for their stories and their pasts. I think those are interesting things. So look for those and continue reading. Otherwise, you may never know their stories. Thnx. :P)

After Spectra and Lucy told me their fates, I asked, "So, would you mind taking me to the exit?"

"Which one?" Lucy asked, rolling her eyes. She was now sitting in the shadows, the only reason I knew where she was being her aura, which was dark and shadowy. Now I knew why. I felt sorry for these two, and I couldn't decide who I should feel most for. I guess it depends on opinion…

"The one leading to Monster High." I said, trying not to let my face betray me. It was an easy to answer question that should've been obvious, but Lucy was freaky and I really didn't want to get on her bad side.

"I want to go to school." Spectra sighed wistfully.

"We can't." Lucy said flatly, point blank.

"I know. Maybe some day. If the curse placed on us was lifted and we could leave the catacombs." Spectra floated down to where her face and my face were equal in height. She whispered into my ear, "It gets pretty lonely down here with just Lucy." I'm pretty sure that even though her whisper was nothing more than a barely audible breeze, Lucy had heard. And I'm pretty sure she didn't care about Spectra's opinion on loneliness.

"Yeah, right." Lucy said, floating up to where she had been. It was a crack in the wall that most have been considered her room. Spectra had one, too. Their existences must have been lonely. I mean, things down here were bleak and cold. It had to be depressing, even for a ghost.

"Can you take me back to the school?" I asked, ready to show up completely free of the stone Deuce had trapped me inside of.

"Oh, yeah." Spectra said, tapping the side of her head like she should've known. "Follow me." she said, reminding me of how she'd said it a while ago.

"Bye, Spectra." Lucy said from her hole in the wall room.

"Bye, Lucy." Spectra called back, waving at someone who couldn't see her at this point. And I think she knew that, but waving seemed to be a standard thing to do, even for her.

"So you guys are friends now?" I asked, clearing up the one question that hadn't been answered by their stories.

"I guess. No hard feelings, pretty much. Lucy doesn't care about much and what she did care about, she can't touch anymore." she said, her expression indecipherable.

"But she killed you. How can you two be completely normal now?" I asked, still not being able to comprehend.

"She's dead now, too. We're even. I may not have killed her, would never dream of it, but it's like there's nothing I can take from her and there's nothing she can take from me. We're finished." She shrugged.

"Still. If I had been killed by my so-called best friend, I would never forgive her. Especially for reasons such as hers." I said, recalling Lucy's explanation.

"Nah. Lucy is very self conscious and just vulnerable. She needed to be sure about her place in the world and the relationship. I would've stolen what she loved, but she killed me and she was confident that no one else could take her love away."

"Whatever. I'll never get it." I said, giving up trying to understand.

"Here we are." she said, as we came upon a door leading to a stairwell. I started to walk up, but then I stopped. She wasn't coming with. "Why aren't you coming?" I asked, stopping on the third step.

"I thought I was the air headed one." she said, smiling the smile I'd always associate with her now. "The curse. I can't leave the catacombs."

"Oh, yeah. I wish you could." I said, turning around and climbing another step before stopping again. I turned back around. "Spectra, I'll find a way to break the curse and get you and Lucy enrolled in the school." I said, determined to keep the promise.

"Don't try too hard. Believe me, it isn't easy finding a way around the rules." she said, once again getting that haunted look on her face. Now I knew why.

"I will. I'll try super hard. And you'll see the light of day again. Alright?" She still looked pretty doubtful. I didn't blame her. I felt extremely doubtful, too. "Alright? I won't give up you."

"I believe you." she said. "I know you'll try. I know you won't give up. If the reason why you were here in the first place has anything to show about your character, then I believe you. I trust you. Do you trust me now?"

I thought for a second. Seriously. And then I said, "Yes. I do. I trust you. So trust me. I'll break you out of this stone." I said, smiling at her. I hoped I could get her and Lucy and out of here.

"Thank you, Frankie. Thank you so much." she said, and she faded into thin air.

I walked up the staircase and soon, I saw the sunlight coming through the outside door. I'd probably have a lot to deal with before I could get to sleep tonight.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4 - Cleo de Nile

My opinion on Frankie was falling fast. She was arrogant and conceited and she had that new baby smell. I didn't like her at all. But she wasn't the only source of drama and gossip at this school. There were two new guys. The human one, Jackson, was taking a particular liking to Draculaura and Draculaura was taking a particular liking to Jackson. That way, I could get her out of Deuce's room at night.

Yes, yes. Everyone knew at this point about their little affair. We also knew where Lagoona had been for a few days; in Draculaura's closet. She'd been spying on the vampire and Deuce in his room and ran and hid in Draculaura's closet. Draculaura was deathly afraid of the possibility of closets, so she latched hers shut. Lagoona couldn't get out because the doors were bolted together. Maddi, Shouti, and Medusa watched her while she was in there and waited until Jackson and Holt get to school to let her back out. I was just beginning to recognize their cruelty.

Deuce and I break up a lot. We always get back together, but every once in a while we need a break from each other. And when we get back together, it's sorta great. It's really great, actually. Because everyone knows, Deuce is really good in bed. Or on the couch. Or really anywhere. And most of the time, I was the one in the bed or on the couch with him. And I loved that fact. I hated it when that talent was used on anyone else. So Ra knows I hated Draculaura. And Draculaura knew as well.

"Look, Cleo, I'm sorry." she said, putting her hands up in front of her as we stood in the middle of the living area. Jackson and Holt looked on from the corner. Holt looked amused and Jackson looked a little frightened.

"No. No you're not, because it was good." I said, knowing exactly what I was talking about.

"Cleo. It's done between Deuce and me. I promise." she said, still backing away. I continued to step forward. Soon, she'd reach the wall and there would be no more room for her to run.

"Draculaura. Stop. We all know that's not true." I said, giving her a hard time. I knew they were done. She seemed scared, though, and I loved it. Frightening people and intimidating them was my favorite thing to do. I knew for a fact that they were done, because Deuce never stayed in one place for very long. I was the exception to that. I always would be.

"Cleo, I'm not lying. I wanna be with Jackson now. Okay?" she said, looking at Jackson and smiling. When she turned back to me, that smile faded fast.

"Fine. But you better not relapse." I said, pointing my finger at her. "If you do, I'll know. I can read him like a book."

"I won't. Trust me." she said, turning her back on me and walking over to Jackson. He put an arm around her shoulders and led her out into the hallway, probably to the creepateria.

"Don't you think that was a bit uncalled for?" Holt asked me, smiling like he had a secret.

"Not at all. Do you know who you are speaking to?" I asked, putting my hands on my hips and raised my eyebrows.

"Yes, Ms. de Nile." he said, bowing and then standing back up straight. "And I don't care. I've heard all about you and I'm not impressed. You may put off this, "I'm the queen of the world so bow to me." kind of vibe, but I don't swing that way. So you can fuck off. Alrighty?" he finished. I was thoroughly caught off guard. He'd told me off and cussed at me all in his first day here.

He walked off to his and Jackson's room. I wanted to run after him and give him a piece of my mind, but then I heard raised voices off in the hallway. I peeked around the corner and saw Medusa and Frankie coming toward the living area. I hid behind the curtains. Everyone was wondering what had happened to Frankie after her outburst earlier. Deuce had uncharacteristically hidden in his room the whole time. His mother had pulled him out in the corridor when they took Frankie… Deuce and I weren't speaking right now, of course, so I hadn't been able to ask him why.

"How did you get back here?" Medusa asked, sounding more angry than curious. "You were trapped."

"Don't trap me in the catacombs with ghosts anymore, that's all I'm saying." she said, shrugging. Medusa stopped walking.

"Ghosts? So you saw some? Were they scary?" she asked, probably hoping the ghoul had been completely tortured.

"No. They weren't scary… The first one wasn't, at least…" she said, thinking about something and smiling. "Medusa, they're trapped down there. The curse is keeping them there. And Spectra said that she wanted to come to the school."

"Spectra Vondergeist?" the woman asked, trying to hide her astonishment.

"Yes, and Lucy Ghost." Frankie replied, smiling triumphantly.

"Frankie," Medusa said, her voice lowering. I had to strain to hear what she said. "I don't want you to speak a word of this to anyone here, especially him."

Him? Who's "him"? Deuce? Jackson? Holt?

"What's the point in doing that?" Frankie asked, beginning her act again. When was this girl gonna learn she couldn't be defiant all the time?

"Because it's painful, even for me." she said, looking at the ground. "You wouldn't understand."

"I do, Medusa." Frankie stepped forward and put her hand on the Gorgon's shoulder.

"Then you won't talk about them to him, okay?" Medusa asked, straightening up again and pushing Frankie away. Frankie looked hurt, but she didn't say anything else. "Go back up to your dorm room."

"Yes, ma'am." she said, her head hanging a little.

"And Frankie?" Medusa said, calling her back a few steps. Once again, the woman lowered her voice and I strained to hear. "I swear to the gods that if I hear about you gossiping about your little trip to the catacombs, Deuce will not be the one to stone you." she threatened, and Frankie's eyes widened. She scurried off to her room. Medusa watched her go, looking pleased, and she turned and walked down the hall.

I was so interested in hearing about what Frankie had learned, and apparently it had something to do with one of our guys… It better not have been about Deuce. Who were Spectra Vondergeist and Lucy Ghost? If I asked Deuce about them, word might get around and Medusa would suspect Frankie… But what that really so bad for me? If Frankie was gone, I wouldn't have to be annoyed by her every day of my unlife. It seemed like a good deal; I got gossip and Frankie got permanently stoned.

Which reminds me what Medusa had said about Deuce stoning her. Frankie had gotten to see his eyes? And I haven't seen them? Not that I really wanted the aftereffects, but I desperately wanted to see his eyes. They were deadly green and beautiful according to what I knew about Gorgon eyes, especially the ones with green snakes. If Frankie had seen his eyes and I haven't, what kind of girlfriend would I be?

"Cleo? What are you doing?" a voice asked, scaring me half to life. I turned in the direction it had come from.

"Lagoona. Ra, you scared me." I said, putting my hand to my chest.

"Sorry, mate." she said, using the Australian slang I hated.

"It's fine. Next time, don't sneak up on me." I said, surprising myself with the kindness I'd shown.

"Cool. What are doing?" she asked again. Goodness, this girl was just about as nosy as I was.

"Nothing. Just checking these curtains out." I said, rubbing my hands across the material. It was scratchy and totally horrid. I jumped away. "Ew. Not good."

"What'd you expect? Silk?" she asked, smiling her goofy smile.

"A little. They look so fancy and when you get up close you realize how cheap they must be.

"That reminds me," she said, her smile disappearing. "What do you think those evil women did to Frankie? She didn't do anythin'." the fish stated, her brows knitting in confusion.

"No, she was being rebellious. They wouldn't have sent her away if she hadn't done anything." I said, trying to make everyone else see Frankie for the annoying brat she was.

"I guess you're right… but standing up for us was the best thing she could do. She didn't do anything wrong, she just didn't do what they wanted her to." Lagoona's face dropped a little. "Do you think they'll let her come back?" she said, close to a panic. "She and I had gotten to be good friends. I don't wanna lose that."

"If they don't bring her back, they don't bring her back." I said simply, shrugging my shoulders. "Lagoona, I have to admit, this conversation is so boring, and I have better things to do than to talk about the rebel we all know as Frankie. I'll see you later." I said, dismissing myself from the dull topic. I really didn't want to talk about Frankie and get drama stirred up about her. I needed drama stirred up about me. Not her. Never her. I was the queen. I was going to stay on top.

I knocked on Deuce's door and entered, seeing as it wasn't locked, and quickly shut it behind me, the lock clicking as I pressed it in. He was sitting on the bed, looking at his iCoffin. He slowly looked up at me, not startled at all. Was he expecting this? Is that why the door was left open? Ra.

"Hey, Cleo." he said, sighing. He flopped back onto the pillows and put his arm over his eyes. I rolled my eyes. He and I both were exasperated with this sort of thing. But the show must go on.

"Good afternoon, Deuce." I said, walking over to the chair by the desk. "We should talk."

"I don't really wanna talk." he said, still not looking at me. What was that supposed to mean? I stood back up and crossed over to him.

"Why not?" I asked, standing right beside the bed.

"Because, it's boring." he said, completely throwing me off.

"We should still talk." I said, trying to get this thing moving. Ra, he was stubborn.

"Nah." he said, sitting up and grabbing me by the waist. He laid back down and this time, I was on top of him. Our faces were only an inch or so apart. "I don't really wanna talk, Cleo." he said, smiling his best smile. His teeth were so white. Too bad I still couldn't see his eyes due to the sunglasses and the fact that he would stone me if I did.

"Oh, really?" I said, a smile beginning to form on my face. "Then what do you want to do, Deuce?" I asked, even though I already knew what he was hinting at.

In response to this, he brought a hand up, resting his fingers on the back of my neck. He kissed me and it was amazing. I kissed him back. At first, the kiss was only gentle, but soon, the intenseness of it grew. It began to be more desperate and hot, and I wasn't complaining. He turned me over and now he was on top of me. We kissed for another minute or so and he went down and started kissing my neck, his hands sliding down my body as he went further down. The entire time, I was grateful that we were alone.

By the time I left his room an hour or so later, my outfit was wrinkled and my hair was seriously messed up. I smiled and licked my lips as I continued up to my dorm. My room was the only room being used up on this third floor of balconies, but today, I wasn't alone up here. Medusa had just come out of the newly painted red door to my left. She stopped when she saw me and my disheveled state. She smiled, but didn't say anything about it.

"What are you doing up here?" I asked, trying to stay casual and pretend not to notice how awful I looked.

"Just helping the new student into her dorm." the woman said, crossing her arms.

"Who? Why wasn't I told?" I asked, hating to be out of the loop, even if it was a loop of older women.

"Her name is Ghoulia Yelps and she's a zombie. Believe me, she won't bother you." she assured me, turning around and going down the stairs.

I walked over once she had gone and tried the knob. It was locked. I knocked, needing to meet the girl I'd be sharing the third floor with. When the door finally opened about three minutes later, I was almost ready to leave and get some sleep. The ghoul I came face to face with was small and looked shy to the bone. She had light blue skin, unlike Lagoona's bright blue skin, and she looked like a total nerd. No competition here. Her hair was straight and blue, she wore baggy pants, laced up boots, and a long sleeved red shirt. Red must have been her favorite color. She had green eyes, not nearly as emerald as Deuce's, though, and she wore white, horn rimmed glasses. She had matte red lipstick on and wore no makeup around her eyes. She smiled slowly, and said nothing to me. And even though she was a rotting zombie, her teeth were pearly white. Huh.

"So you're Ghoulia Yelps?" I asked, trying to hide the disappointment.

She nodded, still not speaking.

"I'm Cleo de Nile, queen of this school."

Still no comment from this ghoul. She smiled at me again.

"Can you talk?" I asked, seriously getting aggravated.

Ghoulia shook her head.

"You can't even speak zombie?" I asked.

She nodded her head.

"Then you can speak." She shook her head. "I'm confused." She moved her hand in a gesture that said to keep going. "You can't speak, but you can speak zombie?" She nodded and drew her index finger across her throat. "You don't have a voice box?" I asked, wondering how I could have ever guessed that. "Okay, so you can understand zombie, but you can't make a sound." I clarified and she nodded. Since this ghoul couldn't speak, this conversation was quickly coming to a halt. "Well, I'm going to go back to my room now. If you need anything, don't come to me." I dismissed her, and yet she continued to stand at the door staring after me.

The next morning I travelled alone to breakfast in the creepateria. When I arrived, only a few monsters were seated, spread out from each other. I walked over to where Deuce was sitting, not eating, with his sunglasses on and his hood pulled up over his snakes. I sat down across from him and he didn't move at all. I looked around the rest of the creepateria.

Frankie was sitting alone next to the window, silently eating her breakfast with her head down. Lagoona surprisingly wasn't sitting with her, and this made me wonder if our conversation yesterday had changed her opinion of Frankie. Hopefully it had. Lagoona was, instead, sitting with Holt, and I didn't believe this was that much of an improvement from Frankie. I wondered if they were together or hooking up or something. From the looks on both of their faces and the gestures they were both making, they seemed to be in an argument. Draculaura and Jackson were sitting together, of course, and they seemed so happy. They were both staring at the other and smiling like fools. Or lovebirds. Not that there was much of a difference. Ghoulia shuffled in just then, walking like the slow zombie she was. I turned my head so that it didn't seem like she could sit with us and she headed over to Frankie's table. I saw the beginning of the same one sided conversation she and I had had last night.

"Fine!" Lagoona suddenly yelled and stood up, her chair screeching as she pushed it back.

"Alrighty then!" Holt yelled back, also standing and pushing his chair back. Lagoona sighed loudly and power walked out of the creepateria. Holt sat back down and put his head in his hands rubbing his face and groaning. Jackson and Draculaura walked over to Holt's table and sat down. Draculaura looked like she felt a little awkward, but Jackson was right there for Holt. I still didn't know what their relationship was for sure, but they seemed to be brothers or something like that. Draculaura looked over at my table just then and I beckoned her over. She looked at the two guys talking about the fight, and then she slowly walked over here.

"What is it, Cleo?" she asked impatiently. Deuce finally looked up and didn't look surprised at all. So he;d had to have known I'd been sitting there. And he hadn't talked to me because…?

"Who are they?" I asked, trying to stay vague as to aggravate her more.

"Who are what?" she asked, her foot beginning to tap the tiled floor.

"Jackson and Holt. What the deal with them?" I asked, also beginning to get impatient.

"You know the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, right?" I nodded. "Well, Jackson is Dr. Jekyll's son and since Dr. Jekyll had some problems with Mr. Hyde, Jackson used to have the same condition. Recently, they were separated and now Jackson can listen to music and sweat and stuff. And Holt doesn't have to break through him anymore. So Jackson is Dr. Jekyll's son and Holt is pretty much Mr. Hyde's son. Okay?"

"Yeah. I get it." I said, nodding again. "Now, what just happened between Holt and Lagoona?" I asked, still curious.

"They're going out. They're boyfriend and girlfriend. Officially. They really do like each other, but…" she sighed. shaking her head, "they don't really get along… She's a water creature and he's fire. The two elements are going to clash more than a little bit."

"Makes sense." I said, totally understanding their plight. "And, just to clear things up, you and Jackson are going out, right?"

"Totally." she said, getting that dreamy look on her face. "He's amazing."

"Obviously. He's not my type, but he seems sweet."

"He is. Completely." she said, starting to sway little.

"Okay, you can go now." I said, waving her off.

"Okay. Smooches!" she said, skipping back to Jackson and Holt. I sighed.

Minutes later, I saw Frankie and Ghoulia walking toward our table. Deuce still hadn't spoken to me and I was beginning to wonder if there was some sort of problem. But I couldn't address it because Frankie started babbling.

"Hey, Cleo. I was wondering if you could help Ghoulia and me find the laboratory. Ghoulia really loves science and her GPA is over eight, which is sorta impossible. She's super smart. And she wants a voice. I've had some experience in the lab and I think I could give her a voice box. But I would need the lab for that, obviously. So, what do you say? Are you willing to help us?" she asked, looking at me hopefully. Deuce started snickering.

"Frankie, are you kidding me? Why couldn't you have asked someone else?"

"Because everyone else looked busy." she replied, still smiling that kiss ass smile of hers.

"I am most certainly busy. I refuse to help you. I am a queen. I will not lend a "helping hand" to you or to anyone else. Is that clear, booger?" I said, finally figuring out what she reminded me of. A booger with her stupid green skin.

"Oh." She finally dropped that silly smile, and Ghoulia looked shocked.

"Go. Go away." I said, moving my hand in a shooing motion.

"We're going." she said, quickly turning around and heading out of the creepateria with Ghoulia.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 - Ghoulia Yelps

Frankie led me out of the creepateria, and I could tell that Cleo de Nile had hurt her feelings. I couldn't really console her because my voice box had rotted years ago. When Maddi, Medusa, and Shouti found my family, they stopped the rotting of my body so that I could come to Monster High. I was grateful for their kindness.

My family was from the United Kingdom and I used to have the accent. I'm not sure if I still would. I don't speak the way British people do, and I know a lot of the American English dialog. So of course I don't have London slang and spell things by the Queen's English.

"I'm sorry about that, Ghoulia." she said, a sniffle barely audible to me as she turned the other way.

I wanted to say something like "It's completely fine. She seems to be the queen bitch." But all I could do was place my hand on her shoulder.

"Lets just get that voice box made for you." she said, any trace of the earlier sadness she had felt was gone. She looked determined. I could only nod in fierce agreement.

We walked through the hallways for a long time and by the time we found the laboratory, it had to have been close to dinner time. Monster High was a huge place, but Frankie wasn't let that stop her. She seemed to be a very sweet girl and a wonderful friend if she was willing to go through all of this for me.

After a relentless time in the laboratory searching for the ingredients, testing, and asking questions (those mostly being from Frankie), she made me lay down on the metal laboratory bed. I was nervous, but not too much. She was a smart ghoul that would never let something go wrong. I may have just met her, but I was confident in this.

"Okay, Ghoulia. I'm going to have to put you to sleep so you won't feel the pain." she said, leaning over me to place a gas mask over my nose and mouth. I nodded slightly. "By the time you wake up next, you'll have a voice box and you'll be able to speak." I nodded again, this time a bit more excitedly. The gas started to come out of the tubes and soon enough, everything around me went dark.

The next time I woke up, Frankie's face was right in front of me. She was smiling and saying something that I couldn't hear. I didn't even try to form words because I wasn't used to that at all anymore, and because I didn't want to know if the operation hadn't worked. Her voice came into focus and I could hear what she was saying.

"…a brand spanking new voice box made form the comfort of this laboratory. Ghoulia, you can test it out now. I really hope this works. If it doesn't, we'll come back after we get dinner. The bell will ring in about five minutes." she babbled, her hands moving around constantly.

"Okay…" I said, thinking about what I would say. Frankie was also waiting for my first words. I was still thinking when Frankie spoke up again.

"Ghoulia, you just said something." she said, smiling and looking entirely proud of what she'd done.

"Really?" I asked, noticing that, yes, I still had the British accent. The kind where you don't pronounce your t's and instead of making the "th" sound you say it with an f. Sort of like "fink" instead of think, and "fank you" instead of thank you.

"Really." she replied, still beaming. She held out her hand and pulled me into a sitting position. My throat did feel a little different…

"Do you fink it will stay like this? Like it'll work?" I asked, worrying that this was some sort of cruel moment of happiness that fades away quickly.

"I'm sure. And I can't wait until we can let everyone know." Then she thought for a second and said, "Until you tell them about it with your voice. I'll let you do the talking." she said, and I wondered if she could actually shut up for that long.

"Alrigh. You ready to go then?" I asked, standing up and not feeling any aftereffects of the sleeping gas.

"Totally." she said, hopping up form the bed also. "Ghoulia, I never knew you were British. Did you live in Britain?" she asked.

"Yeah, I did live in Britain. My family moved here a few years ago when I lost my voice box." I said, retelling the awful and embarrassing tale.

"Why? Did you guys move because you lost the voice box?" she asked.

"Yeah. If we'd stayed in Britain with my voice box gone, I would never have gotten through. Everyone knew me as the talkative Ghoulia. I couldn't stay there. It was too shameful. And it showed my age."

"How old are you?" she asked, and then immediately said, "I mean, if you wanna tell me. Just curious."

"It's fine. My parents tell me I'm sixteen in monster years, but I really can't tell you how long I've been dead. It feels like sixteen years, but if my voice box has rotted away already, I can't only be that old." I said, feeling a little sad.

We were in the hallways now and I couldn't see anyone else. Frankie pretty much knew where the creepateria was from here now, and I followed along. Soon, I'd have the whole map of the school memorized and I wouldn't need to follow anyone. They would be following me.

"That's awful. My dad tells me that I'm fifteen days old. But it's obviously been more than fifteen days since I was born…" she said, trying to figure out how long it had been. "It's been three weeks." she said proudly, holding her head a little higher.

"Oh, really? You don't look that young." I said, not even thinking about what I'd say.

She laughed. "I know. I should be fifteen years old, not days. But my dad made me in his lab, he's Frankenstein you know, and each day he was programming memories and knowledge into my head, that knowledge would count as a year's worth of things. So on the fifteenth day, I was fifteen and that night, he didn't give me any more knowledge and memories. So he sent me here to make my own without the help of a lab." she said, smiling the whole way through.

"Your dad is Frankenstein? No fair." I said, my head hanging a little lower. "My parents are just zombies. Random zombies. Nothing unique about them."

"Of course there is." she said. "There's really nothing unique or special about my dad. The norms just took more interest in making him an unlovable monster on screen. That's all."

"Yeah, but at least he was interesting enough for them to spend time on." I said. I really didn't want to throw myself a pity party right now, especially about my parents, so I changed the subject. "So, you got a boyfriend?"

She blushed. "No. The boys all seem to be taken, unless Holt and Lagoona just decide to give it up." She sighed. "I'm not interested in any of these boys. No one of them have really made my heart race. You know?"

"I completely agree. No boy has ever really caught my eye." I admitted. "They're all either too slow, too slow minded, too possessive, and have too big of egos."

We entered the creepateria and I immediately got chills. Not because it was cold, but because the hallways had been and now we'd entered a much warmer area. Everyone else had already chosen their food and grabbed a table with their beasties.

"We should sit over there." Frankie stated, pointing at a table by the window where there were two guys and two girls already seated.

"Are you sure?" I asked. When I'd walked in earlier, Frankie had been sitting alone. I looked at the opposite side of the creepateria and saw Cleo and Deuce sitting together.

"Positive." she said, pulling my arm and steering me toward the table. "Hey, guys, ghouls." she said, super excited to have brought someone new to the table.

"Hey, Frankie. Where ya been?" a blue skinned blonde girl asked.

"The laboratory down the hall." Frankie answered pulling out one of the chairs at the table. I sat down next to her.

"Doing what?" a dark haired boy with yellow highlights and big black glasses asked from the opposite end of the table.

"Helping Ghoulia with her voice box."

"What is that supposed to mean?" another dark haired monster asked, this one being a girl with very pale pinkish skin and pink streaks in her hair.

"Ghoulia is a zombie and she's also the knew student. Her voice box rotted before she moved over to America from Britain." Frankie explained. She still hadn't let me speak. Not that I really minded. I was super nervous around these people.

"Cool story, bro." a dark blue skinned boy with flaming fire on his head said, not unkindly. "I'm Holt Hyde." he said, sticking his hand out to me and smiling, his teeth being made to look whiter due to the contrast to his dark blue skin.

"I'm Ghoulia Yelps." I said, finally being able to speak. His hand was abnormally hot, but not too hot that you couldn't touch him.

Nice to meet ya." he said, taking his hand back and digging into his mashed potatoes once again.

"I'm Jackson Jekyll." the dark haired boy said, also sticking his hand out to me.

"I'm Draculaura, but you can totes call me Lala." she said, her Transylvanian accent thick.

"And I'm Lagoona Blue." the blonde said, waggling her fingers at me and smiling. She had an Australian accent.

"So you didn't used to be able to talk?" Jackson asked, eating his food intently.

"Nope." I said, almost feeling proud of my new voice box.

"I fixed her voice." Frankie said, obviously proud.

Later when everyone had finished breakfast, we left the creepateria following the werewolf woman.

"Hey," Frankie whispered to Lala, "Draculaura, who had to jump yesterday?" Jump? What was this about jumping?

"Lagoona." Draculaura answered, looking pointedly at Lagoona.

"Who's gonna have to jump today?" Frankie asked, obviously very anxious about this. I still had no idea what she was talking about.

"I think they're gonna make Cleo jump." Draculaura said, her face clearly showing her disbelief and disgust at this.

"Seriously?" Frankie exclaimed, incredulous.

"What are you two talking about?" I asked, just as Shouti opened a door and led us out to a cliff where the winds were blowing steadily and hard.

"Welcome, everyone!" she said, her arms opening and gesturing all around us. Her dark brown hair blowing wildly in the wind. "Someone is going to have to jump from Terror Cliff today. As always, we're asking for volunteers. It would save some time and you can tell your friends and family that we didn't have to make you jump."

I walked over closer to Frankie and asked, "So she's going to make us jump off of the mountain?" This was outrageous.

"It's a cliff. And, yeah, they make someone jump every day." She smiled. "I've never jumped so it may be me or Cleo. They won't make you jump because it's, like, your first day."

"Okay. Good." I relaxed a little.

"Who wants to go?" Medusa Gorgon asked from the edge of the cliff.

No one said anything. Deuce looked completely calm, and even a little bored.

"Alrighty then." another woman said from beside Medusa. She had blonde hair and pale skin. "The ghoul jumping today is…" she paused, giving us a moment of suspension. "Cleo de Nile." she read from the clipboard she was holding.

I spoke up over the howling wind. "So, wait." Medusa, Maddi, and Shouti all raised their eyebrows and heads like they were listening, so I continued. "The boys don't have to jump?"

"No. We really pride our boys here since they are so rare coming to Monster High. There are so many more ghouls." Shouti explained.

"In fact," Medusa piped in, "there's a new ghoul sitting down in the office, if Cleo would just jump already." She said this like jumping really wasn't that big of a deal. From what I could tell, they considered this activity safe. A gargoyle held the bungie wire attached to Cleo's harness. Gargoyle's are heavy and strong, so it wasn't like he would let the wire slip from his hands.

"Well thats…" I grasped for words. "That's really sexist."

"Anyone?" Maddi asked, addressing the question that had already been asked. I doubted anyone was going to volunteer. The only way someone would be bungie jumping was if they forced us to. "Okay then." she said, shaking her head with a smile. It's not like she was actually sorry about having to do this to someone. "Cleo, you're up."

"I refuse to do this. You can't make me." she said, her eyes wide and crazy looking. This ghoul obviously had problems.

"We can. Remember, your parents signed you over to us." Shouti said, an almost evil smile spreading across her face.

"I refuse." Cleo repeated. She looked angry and wild, like she could hit somebody at any moment. And she probably could.

"Shouti, take it away." Medusa said, waving her arm toward Cleo and looking away.

Shouti calmly walked over to Cleo like she was an animal that could get scared and run away at any moment. Cleo started backing up, but the gargoyle was right behind her and she couldn't go any further. She was already in the harness and her bungie wire was ready and being held by the stone creature. She looked scared and angry at the same time, if that was even possible. Shouti reached out and grabbed her by her tiny waist and threw Cleo over her shoulder. She walked over to the edge where Maddi and Medusa were, calm as can be, and set Cleo down on the ground firmly. She stood rigidly at the edge for a moment and Shouti backed up.

"Cleo, you can jump on your own, or I can push you." she said, exasperated.

"Why is this even necessary?" she asked, always acting queenly.

"Because the viewers love it." Medusa said, smiling. Maddi looked over at her, surprised, and elbowed her in the forearm.

"Oh, my Ra." Cleo said, just outright angry and disbelieving.

"You gonna jump?" Shouti asked, getting a little closer as she said this.

"No. I refuse." Cleo repeated this again. Shouti stepped forward the rest of the way and pushed Cleo. She screamed the entire time. When the gargoyle finally pulled her back up, her voice was probably gone. Her hair was messed up and her clothes were too. When Shouti unhooked the harness, she ran all the way to Deuce and cried. He hugged her back, keeping her safe in his arms.

"Alrighty, everyone." Medusa said, like nothing of the sort was happening at the moment. "You may find your way back to the dorms. It should be a bit easier now. Your new classmate will be entering the dorm after you by about ten minutes. We just have to get her paperwork finished."

We all filed through the door set into the rock of Terror Cliff. I couldn't believe they'd made her do that even with all of the resistance she was putting up. It was kinda scary. Soon enough, we reached the living area and everyone went to their rooms. I flopped onto my bed and slept for hours.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5 - Clawdeen Wolf

My aunt led me to the living area of her stupid new high school. I hated the fact that my parents had made me transfer schools just so that I could attend Shouti's school. Like, really? I thought they were smarter than that. I guess not.

"Clawdeen, you'll really like it here, I promise." Shouti said, gushing to me about how great the place was. "There aren't a whole lot of students, no more than ten, and three of those students are boys. You probably won't have any trouble getting one to like you." I shook my head, trying to keep my grip on the aggravation bubbling inside of me. "I hope you like your dorm and I know that you'll love being here with me. Having family around you is always a good thing."

"Maybe," I said, trying to sound like I was considering many options. But really I knew the answer that was inside of my head; no. No it ain't. I was glad to be away from Clawdia, Howleen, and Clawd, but Shouti was going to override that.

"Here is the living area." she said, sweeping her arms outward and beaming at the room. It was empty. "The other students are in their dorms. Let me show you where you'll be staying." She walked up the stairs all the way to the third row of doors. "Right here next to you is Ghoulia, the zombie, and the last door is Cleo de Nile's room, she's a mummy. The floor above you is only two boys sharing a room, which makes sense because they're very close brothers."

"Thanks, Shouti." I said, still trying to keep my cool.

"You're so welcome, Clawdeen." she said, smiling lovingly. I knew this was all just an act. Shouti wasn't really this nice. By the time dinner comes around, she'll probably be back to normal, the newness having worn off as soon as she left.

I chilled in my room until about six o' clock, when the bell rang for dinner. I left my dorm and found that the living area below was full of people. Strange looking people, but not anything too out of the ordinary. I was a werewolf after all. I walked down the hall toward the mummy's room, just to see what the doors looked like, one was red and the other was glittery gold. I was just coming up on the glittery gold door when it opened and the mummy stepped out. She walked right into me, yelping when the impact hit her. She pushed me away, her eyes shut tight, and I hit the balcony railing. I hit right on my spine where I'd gotten hurt last week in gym, when I uncharacteristically fell right off of the climbing rope once I got to the ceiling. My back arched and I jumped into the air, howling, and I flipped back off the railing.

People below me screamed. The fall seemed to be in slow motion. I felt my hair billowing out all around me, and my arms and legs were kicking and thrashing wildly. The scenery around me quickly flashed back to the gym, with everyone either screaming or laughing, then the living room flashed back into place. The fall from the third floor balcony was a much longer fall than the rope had been to the gym floor. I knew this could be serious. And at the last minute when I was about to hit the hard floor, a bean bag chair appeared below me and I felt myself fall onto it. The beans inside of it went everywhere, and the monsters gathered around me shielded their eyes. The mummy was running down the stairs with a surprised and horrified look on her face.

"Oh my Ra!" she exclaimed coming closer to me. "I'm a queen!"

I was utterly shocked. "You were wronged? You pushed me off the fucking balcony!" I said, unable to keep myself under control.

"Yes, but you really shouldn't have been so close to my door!" she said, an angry look taking center stage on her face. "I am queen Cleopatra!"

"I don't care. I don't have a queen, I have a president, and you can't force me to follow your rules." I said, standing up and dusting myself off. As I moved though, my spine began to seriously hurt. It felt like someone was stabbing a knife into my back.

"Ugh." she said, stomping her heel on the floor. "What's your name?"

"Clawdeen Wolf." I said, holding my head up proudly.

"Well, then, Clawdeen Wolf, you need to watch your back." She probably didn't even know that I had some serious problems with my back right now, but I was a werewolf, and the entire spot was going to heal in a day or so.

"Come on, Cleo." a boy with snakes for hair said, slowly walking over to her and taking her small hand. As she walked past, she glared daggers at me. I didn't glare back because it was so petty.

"Ghoulia!" Cleo yelled, still walking. A blue haired zombie followed behind her slowly.

"I can't believe she took Ghoulia from us." a green skinned girl said. She had white and black hair and bolts in her neck.

"I can't believe that Ghoulia is letting it happen." a blonde fish girl said, shaking her head at the ground.

"I know right?" a pink vampire with pink and black pigtails in her hair.

"I think she's just scared of Cleo." the green girl said. I realized I was staring at them and the green girl waved. "Hey, I'm Frankie. You're Clawdeen Wolf, right?"

"Yeah." I said, almost blushing. The entire falling off of the balcony had been embarrassing.

"Hey, I'm sorry about what Cleo did." the blonde fish said, looking at me apologetically, like it was partly her fault, which it wasn't.

"Don't be. That was all her." I said, and I began walking down the hall. They caught up with me, thankfully, because I had no idea where I was going.

"Still. I'm sorry." she said, insisting on being sympathetic.

"Thanks." I said, trying to move past this part of the conversation. "So, what's your name?"

"Oh, my name's Lagoona." she said, smiling. She had freckles and blue skin.

"And my name is Draculaura, but you can call me Lala." the pink vampire said. She was extremely short and pink.

"I'm Frankie." the green girl said again. Maybe she'd forgotten, or maybe she didn't like being left out of conversation. Either one was a possible answer.

"Yeah, I know." I said, rolling my eyes to myself. We reached the cafeteria and I followed the ghouls to a table. None of them got lunch from the lunch line that Shouti was manning.

"Hey, Holt." Lagoona said, sitting down next to a dark blue boy with fire for hair.

"Lagoona." he said, engulfing her in a hug.

"Jackson!" the pink vampire said, scuttling over to a black haired nerd.

"Hey." he said, flushing a little. "How are you?"

"I'm good." she said, blushing happily. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too."

I was ready to puke. I turned to Frankie. She took a seat and I sat beside her, Lagoona on the other side of me. These two guys must have been the brothers sharing a room Shouti had told me about.

"So, Frankie, I don't know if this is an obvious question, but, who's your parents?" I was guessing her parents were ragdolls of some sort that had put her together with stray parts from the cemetery.

"Oh, my dad is Frankenstein and my mother is the bride of Frankenstein. Thanks to humans, I'm sure you've heard of them both." she said, rolling her eyes in disgust. Then she brightened. "Who are your parents, if you don't mind my asking."

I thought it was pretty obvious, but hers had been too. Well, it should have been. "My dad is the wolfman. The werewolf."

"The werewolf? Like, THE werewolf?" she asked, starting to jump up and down on her chair a little.

"Yeah." I said, looking over at Shouti. "And Shouti is my aunt."

"She's your aunt?" She looked incredulous and ready to laugh about it, but I only looked unhappy. "Oh, well, she seems… nice… I guess…"

"Well, she's okay, but she's a part of the family, and we're kinda known for being…" I didn't want to say it because it was so stereotypical. People thought that since we talked differently and went down on people when we disagreed with them and because we lived in an area that wasn't considered to be very nice, they could say whatever they wanted about us.

"What?" Frankie pressed, wanting to know everything.

"People say we're ghetto. The entire family." I said. Even though I talked like a normal, totally not ghetto ghoul, I still kicked ass in a fight and talked differently at home. I didn't really want to make that kind of impression on my first day at Monster High, so I had been hesitant to tell Frankie. Hopefully she wasn't as much of a gossip as she seemed to be. "Don't tell anybody that, because it isn't something I want to be called."

"Totally. I won't spread that around. I'm not a gossip." she said, giving me a little bit more peace of mind.

"Thanks." I turned and found Draculaura and Jackson still canoodling, but Holt and Lagoona were sitting icily, staring away from each other. "So, Lagoona, who are your parents?" I asked, hoping it wasn't a bad idea to talk to her when she obviously wasn't happy.

"Oh," she said, snapping out of it and putting on a big smile. She was obviously Australian. I loved accents, so I listened to her intently as she spoke. "My folks are the Sea Monsters."

"Oh, cool." I said, nodding. "Who's Draculaura's family?"

"She's the daughter of Dracula." Holt said, like it should have been obvious. I wanted to slap his face off. "Ergo, "Dracu" Laura." He rolled his eyes.

"Who asked you?" I asked, my accent coming out. "I ain't stupid, 'mmkay?"

"I wasn't saying that." he said, leaning back in his chair and putting on this look on his face that showed me he didn't care to be called out by a girl.

"Well then don't talk like you think I am." I said, shrinking back over to Frankie, who looked ready to laugh or burst into an angry fit for me. I don't know why I'd overdone it like that, and brought out my "ghetto" side already.

"I'm sorry about that, Clawdeen." she said, looking at me sympathetically.

"It's fine, girl." I said, still not entirely "normal" yet.

"Okay." she said, not being pushily apologetic like Lagoona had been.

"Frankie?"

"Yeah?"

"What's going on between Lagoona and Holt? They seem angry or something…" I asked. Earlier I had noticed the tension between them, and obviously, something had happened.

"Oh, well, Lagoona and Holt are together, but they fight all the time. Fire and water and all that." she said, laughing through her nose.

"Then why are they still together?" I asked. It didn't make sense to continue to date someone if the two of you only fought when you were with each other.

Later that night, I was in the living area by myself. I was drinking some coffee and reading the newspaper. Ever since I was little, I was go out onto the porch and sit down with my dad. We always drank coffee while he read the paper and I read whatever book I was reading at the time. By now, I had graduated from book to paper. The news had become more interesting to me than fiction. The news was real. Fiction was a part of someone's imagination.

"Hey, Clawdeen." a voice said from behind me. I really must've been engrossed in whatever was happening in the world that I hadn't heard them get close. Or smelt them. Now I could. Because I'm a werewolf, I can smell, hear, taste, see, and feel things a bit differently. All of my senses are heightened so that no predator could sneak up on me and take me down. Not that there were many predators that hunted werewolves, but hypothetically, I could sense them before they got to me and get the upper hand on them. Hypothetically.

"Hi." I turned around and found myself looking at the small pink vampire ghoul and her boyfriend already looking at me.

"What are you doing down here all alone?" she asked, her Transylvanian accent was very thick and obvious. The boy beside her scratched the back of his head. He was obvious one of those awkward people.

"Nothing," I said holding up my coffee mug and newspaper. "Reading the paper. Drinking some coffee. Just relaxing."

"Cool. Mind if we come and sit down in here, too?" she asked, looking up at Jackson. He wasn't an extremely tall guy, but she was short, so she looked up at everything, just about.

"Not at all." Then I thought better of it. "Well," They stopped walking down the steps and waited for me to go on. I looked back at them again and smiled nicely. Well, as nicely as I could. "just as long as you aren't kissing each other."

"Oh, no. We won't be." Jackson said, holding up the palms of his hands like he was trying to protect himself from me.

"Me and Jackson aren't really into all of that kind of stuff." she said, making a gesture that seemed to be knocking the thought away.

"Okay…" I said, not really needing this information. It had been meant as a joke, but they both looked serious about the entire abstinence from kissing. "Well, Imma get back to the Middle East." I said, fluffing my paper back out and sticking my nose into it.

"Totally." Draculaura said, her pink go go boots touching the floor finally. Jackson followed right behind her. They both sat in the armchair a few feet to my right. Jackson took out an iCoffin and started flipping through it as Draculaura looked on at his screen. Every once in a while, Draculaura would giggle and Jackson would laugh. So all in all, they weren't as annoying as I'd anticipated.

Soon, I heard another person coming down the stairs, this one moving fast, like they were on serious business. I looked over and saw Frankie running in her girly way out into the hallway. I wondered what she was up to, so I made my excuses to the couple, who didn't pay me any attention, and began to follow the sounds of her heels on the tiled floor.

"Frankie, where you going?" I called out to her as she came into view. She stopped and turned around, breathing heavily.

"I'm gonna go visit some friends. I'll be fine." she said, smiling.

"You want me to come with?" I asked, stopping in my tracks.

"No, it's fine. They're… one of them is a nice person." she said, shrugging. "Just go back to the dorms."

"Alrighty then." I said, turning around and walking back to the living area. I took my cup of coffee and my newspaper and headed up to my room.

As I was lying in my bed, I could only think about what had happened to me this morning. Cleo had pushed me off of the balcony to my possible death. I knew I wouldn't die because of my werewolf strength, but it still hurt. I wanted to get revenge on her. She needed to pay. Where I came from, no one got away with something like that. So I started to formulate a plan to get her back, that didn't involve pushing her off of the balcony.


End file.
